Indian Telecoms in 2015 by Arpita Pal Agrawal- Leader- Telecom, PwC India

Arpita-Pal-Agrawal-Leader-Telecom-PwC-IndiaIndian Telecoms in 2015- Top Wishlist

Regulatory roadmap  on  key pending issues  so that  trust and confidence in the sector is restored for all stakeholders

1. LTE will become mainstream in India as well In 2015, we will witness multiple Indian players launching 4G on a more efficient 1800 MHz spectrum  and Indians subscribers will adopt 4G wholeheartedly to satiate their need for mobile data. We expect 4G LTE subscribers to reach 10-15million by Dec 2015 driven by competitive pricing, superior network experience and affordable smartphones.

2. Public wi-fi to be a bigger phenomenon; wired broadband will remain work-in-progress- Public WiFi to become a reality. India will see  a significant spurt in WiFi  hotspots driven by both Government “Smart Cities” and “Digital India” and private sector initiatives. However, wired broadband for retails consumers is likely to remain work in progress by end of 2015.

3. Wearables in healthy lifestyle  space  & security apps for smartphones- In the wearables space, Indian consumers have shown most interest in buying fitness monitors (80%), smart watches (76%) and internet-enabled eyeglasses (74%). Price points expected to go down with Chinese / local manufacturing.  Increasing penetration of smartphones and their ability to carry confidential subscriber data will be a significant driver  for traction in security applications for smartphones.

4. Unconventional Data monetization options will appear- Given the steadily increasing  divergence between data revenues and cost,  a trend  that will likely sharpen in 2015, mobile companies will start looking at unconventional monetization options. These would span strengthening of internal capabilities to offer differentiated network experience (“Smart Pipes”), as well as harnessing the extended ecosystem including OTT plays.

5. Intense competition foreseen in the telecom industry due to delayed M&A activities Current M&A guidelines have not been able to stimulate any consolidation in the sector despite all policy makers having expressed the need for it. With new network launches expected in 2015, rapidly growing data market will witness intense price competition and will rekindle memories of 2010 voice led price wars.

© Technuter.com News Service

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